


Invisible Ink

by bangbang_dear, composersboy



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: 24 Hour Diner, Alcohol, Alternate Universe, Drama, Early Twenties, M/M, night swimming, other subtle square enix appearances
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-07-25 18:15:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7542952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bangbang_dear/pseuds/bangbang_dear, https://archiveofourown.org/users/composersboy/pseuds/composersboy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What they have in common might as well be inscribed in invisible ink.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Invisible Ink

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Caution notice: there is a cancer "joke" delivered towards the end.

Neku couldn't recall a time when he had agreed to be everyone's go-to guinea pig among all his friends. Not for anyone other than Sota, who had been his designated hairdresser for the past seven years. Long before the man had even entered a cosmetology trade school.

What he does know, is that he has completely lost the number of times that Eri has dressed him in clothing he would never dream of looking at beyond the shop's window, how many times Shiki has accidentally stabbed him with a sewing pin while putting together another one of Eri's creations, how many times Shiki has _purposely_ stabbed him with a pin after he'd made a sarcastic comment that she hadn't approved of, and how often he'd dragged himself out of bed before work so that he could sit in Nao's chair while she used half of her makeup supply on his face.

Nao was lucky that she was engaged to Sota, or he would have told her and her mascara to screw off a long time ago.

Tonight, he had spent all afternoon being the woman's doll. His legs were itching to get moving once she'd set him free, and he hadn't been able to spare a moment to stare at how unrecognizable she must have made him this time. All he could do was offer a silent prayer of gratitude that she'd stayed away from his eyes. Neku had only half a shift to power through tonight, so he wasn't going to repay his boss by showing up late, not when he was lucky to have his position as a disc jockey in the first place. Not only was he highly underpaid, the nightclub where he worked was owned by the head of Cyco Records themselves. He could get struck down by lightning on his way out the door, and they'd have a feasible replacement for him by the end of the night.

Of course his boss _liked_ his work, and often made comments about how he tended to favor the above and beyond work ethic he put into his appearance, despite his semblance of not giving a damn. Neku had once explained that his friend should take all the credit for that, not himself, but the words must have fluttered over his head and out the door.

Oh well. At least he appreciated the job. Nao had been so proud of her work, too...

And while he worked, the bodies on the dance floor filtered in and out as they always did. One in particular, some time before the clock neared two, happened to be one of his own dear friends. She wasn't dancing, however, but hovering near the edge of the railing where she could be spotted when need be--with a culture shocked newcomer in tow.

This outing had been her idea in the first place, and was the reason why Neku had scavenged to get the second half of his hours covered for tonight. It was her idea, and that was exactly why she hadn't pointed out the bewildered expression on her companion's face. Not because he was doing a good job at covering up that nose crinkling, but because Shiki was the type of person to be pictured in a wildly different situation when asking someone to join her on a night of "midterm destressing." Shiki, who wore ballerina flats and green hair clips and knit cardigans, shared cutesy puppy Vines to her friends online, and giggled into her hands like a Disney princess, had pulled up to a shady nightclub near Tipsy Tose Hall, fully expecting the blond to exploit her action point. She half expected him to severe their friendship on the spot and _walk_ back home.

But not meeting expectations was his own fault! What did he expect a group of people to be doing out in the middle of the night? Having a tea party? Taking a spontaneous, luxurious trip to Oedo-Onsen Monogatari?

No. Cutesy cafes weren't open at these kind of hours. The only places they could venture themselves at this time of night were convenience stores, bars, and nightclubs such as this one. She could have dragged him along to Yamashita Books, if they were looking for someplace quiet, but it would be pointless to celebrate the end of midterm hell by swinging by a bookstore. Pointless and questionably barbaric.

Instead, she led him inside beneath strobe lights and a pulsing bass after meeting with Beat and Eri by the front doors, having yet to join up with the remainder of their party.

The moment that her phone had buzzed in her hand, Shiki turned to the taller man with a smile that spread from one ear to the next.

"That was Sota and Nao, letting me know they're on their way inside!" Normally soft-spoken, she nearly had to yell so that she could be heard. "Neku should be off in a minute, too, and then I can finally introduce you to everyone!"

'Everyone' being nobody that he would know, personally. Other than the redheaded girl and their loudmouth confidant who were trying to dab to a Chainsmokers remix, the three former mentioned were nobody Mr. Good Student had heard of beyond Shiki's occasional storytelling. But that was why they were here, and why he was accompanying them on this night.

"You said they were--cosmetology students? Correct?"

He had mentioned to her before that he could handle beauticians. He had a not-so secret admiration for artfully colored hair, actually, but it wasn't commonplace in his pre-med courses. By the time you made it past core classes, everyone left in the curriculum is stuffy and boring and...

What concerned Shiki the most, as the minutes ticked by, was that Joshua was going to regret coming out with her at all. She had made Neku sound _cute_ the gazillion times she had mentioned him, and had been adamant that he and the blond would hit it off. Judging by the other's expression, he appeared doubtful to agree, especially if Neku was the kind of guy to be _employed_ here.

His white sneakers lit up a vivid purple as they stood under the blacklight. Shiki wouldn't have been the least surprised if he told her that he hadn't been in an environment like this since attending a rollerskating rink event during middle school.

At least he'd been a good sport, and was clearly trying _not_ to be censorious about his predicament, even as he scanned the room for its employees. Shiki knew that he was trying to guess which one could possibly be the friend she'd told him about, and she wasn't about to indulge his curiosity. Not as he glanced at bartenders with tattoo sleeves, servers with eyebrows bedazzled in metal, or the man with a forked tongue who had offered them shots earlier before. She was going to let him go on guessing until he made his presence known.

He was fiddling with his hair by the time she started to answer his question.

"Sota graduated a few years ago, actually. Four, I think. I'm pretty sure he finished school in 2012. As for Nao, she has her license, even though she's still been taking classes off-and-on. You never really stop learning in a field like that, so she's always attending conventions, talks, practices... things like that."

Speak of the devil, just then her eye was caught by simultaneous waving as two bleached-blondes came closer to them. Even among a crowd as big as this one was, Nao managed to stand out as her curls bounced along with her excitement, and the golden bangles on her wrist clanked wildly along with her beckoning arm.

Back on stage, Neku was bent over the music controls as his replacement snuck up beside him. He nearly jolted when a hand reached out to give him a slap on the shoulder.

He yanked his headphones off from around his ears, but he had already missed the greeting that had come out of the man's mouth. "Hey. You showed."

"Well, _duhhh_. I wasn't about to leave you hangin' after all those times you've covered for me, whenever I needed it. Seriously, man, go have some fun. I'm gonna rock out until my ears are bleeding!"

He spared a minute, just so that he could raise a brow at the other man's ebullient behavior. But he wasn't about to spare another minute standing on this stage. Neku had better things to do, better people to see, or so Shiki had told him.

"Right." As he began to get out of his coworker's space, Neku gestured to the setup; more specifically, he pointed out the disc he had recently been playing through the speakers. "I burned a short playlist last night. It still has three more songs to run through, in case you want to keep it going. I thought it'd be faster to get out of here this way if I had already had some music picked out beforehand."

"See, I _thought_ you were standing around, not doing jack, though I figured I was imagining it. I'd have been pissed if the boss was paying ya to have the radio on."

"You know that isn't my style." Which was true, in every sense of the word. Even if the man had only played around with music as a hobby, he took his job as serious as if he were grappling for a career. He didn't bullshit around when it came to employment. If he was going to get paid for something, he was going to do it without any shortcuts, even on his worst days. "Thanks again, Demyx. I'll see you around."

He slipped out behind the curtain, making his way around to the flight of stairs and back down to the dance floor. Neku had caught a glimpse of his friends while he was on duty, so he already had a sense of direction in order to find them. Shiki usually stood around the same spot if she were to come in and wait for him, anyhow. By the time he had gotten within earshot, everybody had already appeared to be acquainted. Shiki and Eri were laughing about something in relation to what Nao must have said to the newcomer, based off of her expression, so nobody was expecting him as he slithered through the remaining bodies that separated himself from them. Shiki glanced up with a gasp that even he could hear above the bass. It almost made him laugh... almost.

"Neku!! Ohmygosh, I didn't see you get off stage!"

"I'm sneaky, like a rat. According to my old lady, it runs in the family. What can I say?"

Dark humor was his go-to response for everything. Sometimes it earned him a punch to the shoulder, but he wasn't met with one this time. Not from her, anyway, because it was Beat who had gotten to him first.

"Yo, man! About time you showed up."

"The real party is about to begin now that Neku is here." That was Eri, teasing. The smirk plastered on her face proved that the girl actually thought she was being funny.

As she must have expected, Neku rolled his eyes. The gesture was heavy, for good measure, and his lips parted as they started to form some kind of response when his gaze landed on... him.

––Holy shit. He was... something, all right. It was a god damn scandal his eyes hadn't locked on to the figure before now. This guy stood out like a flashing bulletin board placed smack dab in the middle of Hokaido, and not because of the way his height towered most of their surrounding group. The guy looked prodigiously out of place among scantily clad men and women. His black dress shirt was fitted and nearly sparkled as the surrounding lights bounced off of its material. His dark jeans didn't have a scratch on them. If he were to turn around, Neku would guess that he had a designer name embroidered onto his back pockets. Not even his shoes had a noticeable mark on their surface.

He didn't look like he was dressed for a club. If anything, he looked like he should be attending ballroom dancing, or having dinner with a Disney CEO at Kozue, or modeling in front of the fucking Eiffel Tower.

Neku's throat had constricted on him, and–– oh god. He was staring. He was indisputably, undeniably, and shamefully gawking at this poor man before he had even introduced himself.

Shiki had told him that she wanted him to meet a friend she'd made on campus, not some kind of Pegaso poster boy!

He had half a mind to begin apologizing to the stranger, or walk out of the nightclub all together. Until, belatedly, he realized that he hadn't been the only one staring.

The med student was just as fixated on him as he was. Only he didn't appear to be the slightest bit impressed.

His mouth hadn't moved, and it didn't need to. Neku could already read his thoughts from his grotesque expression. Right now, the guy must be regretting his genetic code unfathomably. He was mourning being attracted to men as he stood beside Nao, who although was at a high risk for skin cancer, smelled like a coconut latte. It counteracted the smell of hair spray, drugs, and bad cologne. Something that he distinctly imagined Neku must smell like.

What gives? He hadn't even been present for a full ten seconds, and this was the way that he was going to be treated? His hair was stiff from product, not from aerosol, and his deodorant smelled just the same as any other man out there. It wasn't like he was covered in STD's or––

...or like he had sleeves of makeup tattoos that crept up his shoulders, collar bones, and even a portion of his neck?

Yeah. Okay, the staring was completely understandable, even if no less justified.

Still, what kind of pompous ass doesn't even try to hide the fact that he thought a friend of a friend was so vile?

It'd be one thing if Neku were a random passerby, or even a stranger sliding in to ask for a dance, but even without giving his name it had been made obvious that he was a part of the group. Everybody else had acknowledged him, if even just with a wave of the hand, so he had ought to know better. Whatever Shiki may or may not have told him, she'd told _Neku_ that she especially wanted to introduce the two of them together...

What he ought to do in this situation is ask the guy if he had a problem, if only that wouldn't completely ruin the mood and Shiki's plans for a play-date. It would also ruin their friendship, considering she would hold a grudge for the next three billion years. And a half.

He was lucky that Shiki was already gesturing to him with animated fingers before he could seriously entertain the thought. "Joshua, this is the friend I met at fifteen that I was telling you about. This is Neku Sakuraba."

And luckily for the porcelain wonder, it seemed to come to his attention that he was standing like a deer in headlights. He jutted out a hand, looking no less bewildered as the moments passed.

"Delighted," he said, as if his stiff arm didn't suggest he expected the ink to bleed onto him just by shaking his hand.

 _Careful, Pipsqueak. You don't want to catch my_ lice _, do you?_

Neku hesitated before clasping the other's hand.

" _Yoshua_ , right? The med student that Shiki's been blabbing about wanting to drag out of his man cave?"

Mr. Legs let out a furtive breath as he withdrew his hand. He hadn't entirely stuck the landing without offending anyone, but Neku had yet to pull a firearm out from beneath his leather jacket, so tonight was looking substantially successful.

He probably couldn't fit a weapon under there, but whatever. If the other's tension was settled, so was his own.

"'Joshua' is fine," he corrected, which Neku could guess that he often did. Around here, it would be conventional to cling to the less endearing title. "And yes, that's me. In the flesh. Shiki doesn't have much room to talk about caves."

He traded his attention to Shiki, so maybe the aftershock would dissipate from his expression. He tucked his hands into his pockets, aiming to be casual.

"As much time as she spends in art portfolio Hell..."

Neku shifted his attention over to the brunette as well. Only he was giving her raised brows and deadened eyes rather than hope for salvation. After years of friendship and practice of interpreting each other's quirks, the two of them might as well have their own private language. He didn't have to so much as twitch for her to understand what he was thinking. _Really? This guy?_

She would have frowned at him had Joshua not been looking directly at her. Instead, she gave him the quickest warning glance that she could manage, then surrendered a laugh to the blond. "I have pulled more all–nighters than I would like to think about. Not that Neku has any sympathy for me, anyway. He always tells me that as long as I'm curled up around my homework, I'm not going to have any time to research what kind of fashion and design universities are in Europe or America."

"You say that as if I don't think that I can function without you."

"We don't have to test the theory for me to doubt it. You hardly have a social life with me living here as it is."

Neku rolled his eyes in patent disagreement with the comment, saying nothing. Let the woman believe whatever she wants to. The argument wasn't worth it.

"That's what peers are for, silly," Joshua said, slipping into this know–it–all tone of speaking that had always grated on Neku's nerves. "Reluctant, borderline parasitic symbiosis. Study buddies already come at a price. Especially long term ones."

It was easy enough to get the impression that Joshua didn't have a wide social circle of friends. It was the price of being unfunny in a sweat locker of a dance club with strangers. He must think that Neku was out of his mind to be working here, and Shiki even more so for voluntarily visiting him here.

...Did he just refer to his closest friend as a long term study buddy? Shiki wasn't kidding when she'd said this guy needed to get out of the house.

Decidedly, Neku made no comment, hardly did more than blink when the brunette laughed behind her hand. She even agreed with the guy's statement. Did she actually find him funny, or was she that desperate to make sure her friend didn't regret allowing her to drag him around at ungodly hours of the night?

"So, ahm." Joshua had reached up to twist a lock of his ashen curls around his finger, a sour look growing on his face. "You don't _actually_ expect me to dance, do you?"

It was definitely to earn his forgiveness, then, if the crinkling of his nose were indication enough.

The people here jump, grind, bounce, sing, swing their limbs at a risk of hitting anyone within reaching distance without concern for anyone's safety, and even cheer occasionally. Neku couldn't picture Joshua busting a move unless Demyx began to play a song suited for ballroom dancers or ballerinas.

"Ohmygosh, no. It'd be hard to talk to each other if we did that." Shiki waved off his worries with _both_ hands, being the adorable princess that she was, and followed up with a gesture towards the upper level of the dance floor, where the bars and seating arrangements were found. "I thought we could get something to drink. Is that okay?"

Never mind that Nao had already been wiggling her hips while standing in place. Neku was not going to wait for the newcomer's permission. The blond seemed like the type who couldn't find it easy to reject a suggestion from the nice girl, and he wasn't going to take a chance of being wrong about that.

"I practically live here. I am not going to dance unless you shoot me first."

His look suggested that they follow, and he took the initiative of finding a table long enough to seat seven people together. Beat, Eri, Nao, and Sota, who had been engrossed in a conversation of their own, noticed as they started to leave and were quick to follow suit. He had to shoo away a coworker who had been taking a break, and he might have scared a couple of girls into next week, but he was able to accomplish the task without much of a hassle.

Once they were all comfortably seated, Neku watched Joshua's expression as he pushed a menu across the table towards him.

"They have almost anything you could think of. The fruity drinks are listed on the back."

"Oh, good," he said without missing a beat, as if proud. As if he was about to admit his love for fruity drinks to the whole damn world. Joshua flipped the menu over with no delay. "I was hoping there would be something gay enough to share with you."

Despite the sneaking suspicion that Joshua would never share a drink with Neku, he couldn't help staring at the man, dumbfounded. He must have been the seventh person to deliver that joke this week, or Joshua had made it up himself once upon a time. Either way, Joshua may have been a medical student, but he had _schooled_ him in witticism. Joshua had gotten away without a dent in his ego.

As for Neku, his was taking a blow.

He leaned forward as he folded his arms so that he could lay his elbows on the tabletop.

"Funny. I don't remember telling you that I was gay."

Hell-- Shiki may have already informed Joshua about his lack of heterosexuality. He wouldn't put it past her, especially when considering how she made him well aware of the blond's inclination towards men. Why would he be the exception to her secret matchmaking?

"I don't recall telling you that I was, either," Joshua said, milder still. Had Neku struck a nerve, or was he severely misinformed about his killer poker face?

His lips parted, but it was Nao who could be heard whisper-totally-not-whispering to Sota, "Isn't Neku, like, totally queer, though? Like, did he go to conversion camp or something?"

Clearly, he needed to get himself some better cohorts! Neku could feel their loyalty bleeding away into the floor as Beat and Eri snickered into their hands. And since when had they become so buddy-buddy in the first place?

With his eye nearly twitching in irritation, Neku directed his gaze back towards Joshua. He could thank Nao for her lack of a volume control and her over-attentiveness to sexual identity at another time.

"I'm not the one dressed for a job interview."

The glance Joshua gave his figure then wasn't the least bit inconspicuous, insinuating... what? Does he expect to come off straight while in ripped Tigre Punk jeans and a low-cut tank top with 777's face on it? Neku wasn't big on fashion, but even he could tell when he had the potential to ward off every trend knowledgeable gay person here. Neku didn't even own these clothes.

"I suppose I'm not buying, then."

"...were you planning on buying in the first pace?"

That had done it. No longer able to tolerate his bullshit for a moment longer, Shiki pushed at his shoulder without enough force to get him to sit up straight again. "Will you knock it off? You're supposed to be nice to the people I bring around."

"I am nice. Aren't I, Beat? The nicest guy in Shibuya."

"Yo, Shiki couldn't hold Canada up to you."

"You mean... a candle?"

"Shaddup, Eri. You know what I meant!"

Neku gave a snort that was half amused, at best. In all the years that he had been friends with Beat, who had a younger sister that might as well be a walking, talking book of adages, he'd always struggled to remember proper idioms or semi large vocabulary words. He looked to Joshua again, just in time for him to huff out a rather faux offended breath and shove his nose back into the menu.

"Um, rude? I don't look generous to you?"

_I'm not implying that you couldn't afford it, if that's what you're asking._

Despite the thought, Neku felt a slight twinge of guilt for being so ill-mannered. Even if Joshua weren't as clearly inexperienced with small talk as he was, he could be making it easier on the both of them. Neku couldn't help it; he was just so _tired_. He was worn out of social interaction to a point where he hadn't been answering more than half of his text messages. It hadn't been a good week, which made it more than tempting to have declined to meet up. It was just that Shiki had been so excited to get a break from school, to drag her friend along to have a good time with the rest of their group. He hadn't had the guts to let her down.

As harshly as he teased her at times, Neku would go to war for her if someone else were to pick on her or hurt her feelings.

He knew this night was for Joshua, no matter what else Shiki may have been thinking, and if he had come here for frivolous infatuation, he might as well be flirting with a starving bulldog.

"It wouldn't be out of Shiki's nature to have already offered to pay for you, considering she's the one who invited you out."

"Were _you_ going to let Shiki pay for herself? She's too cute to buy her own drink, Neku."

"She is? I hadn't noticed."

The hum in his words couldn't be heard over the surrounding voices or the beat of the music, though Shiki's gasp was audible enough before she delivered a deserved wack to Neku's shoulder.

"You are such a jerk! When was the last time that you got any sleep? You should be taking a nap or something."

"That is not important right now." He waved her off, his lips curving upwards into a smile at the newcomer. "I can see you tricking unsuspecting men into buying you drinks. No offense."

"It's not trickery if they _like_ me," Joshua sighed, putting up his hands as if the obviousness of it exasperated him. Maybe it did. "And why wouldn't they like me? I smell like latex and chlorine. Not my fault."

"Are you suggesting latex and chlorine have a great smell, or was that joke insinuating that people are drawn to you like tourists are drawn to Hachiko because you study in medicine? There are worse things than wooing someone into picking up your tab. It's okay to admit if you do."

_Try to make a fool out of me now, Joshua! You probably thought that wisecrack flew right over my head. I'll have you know that I'm well practiced in using my brain. I was rocking a 4.0 in all of my college courses before--_

"That was... actually self-depreciative sarcasm, but thanks for playing."

Joshua 2. Neku 0.

Eri then drummed her hand on the table, having been listening in until her chatter box couldn't take it any longer. He was surprised she hadn't butt in to speak sooner. "Neku, don't you get free drinks here for being one of the employees?"

"Hell no. The only free drinks I get here are water and coffee."

"Really?" Nao chimed in, sounding scandalized. "I get free drinks here all the time!"

If anything could snap Sota's chill aura into dudebro mode, it was that. He side-eyed his fiancée. "Wait. Who's buying you drinks?"

"I don't, like, remember their names? They're just these really nice guys who pick up my tab if I sit and talk with them for a while. Except there was this one time some guy asked me to, like, watch a movie with him at his place? I told him I didn't want to and he got _super_ pissed off at me? He didn't pay for me that time, and after he said he'd got it covered for me, too!"

How Sota ever let the woman out of his sight was beyond Neku. He watched the train wreck unfolding in front of him, with Sota looking almost pale and Beat's eyes as wide as saucers. Both Shiki and Eri were shaking their heads, and Joshua? He watched Nao with careful calculation, not surprised in the slightest.

"Is this why I haven't dated any women?" Neku asked Shiki, who couldn't help herself from laughing in response.

"I thought it was because you're just too freaking picky. Who knows?"

He turned his nose away to look for anyone in a white dress shirt and a black vest, anybody who resembled a coworker that they could order drinks from. Even still, he was itching to talk about anything that wasn't Nao's obliviousness. "Joshua, what do you do outside of school? Do you work?"

"I teach piano." A bored look on his face, he wiggled his fingers over an invisible keyboard. "But not lately. I pick it back up over breaks."

How disgustingly charitable and Regular Joe of him. Neku found himself staring for a long time, and not at the way that Joshua's curls so delicately framed his cheekbones, or because of how his skin vaguely glowed beneath the ultraviolet light. As ethereal as he may look, he couldn't wrap his head around Shiki dying to introduce him to _this_. A medical student who never leaves his house and teaches piano lessons to children? On what grounds did she get the idea that they would hit it off as friends? Being common bedroom hermits didn't make for a stable relationship.

Did she think this was funny?

"...I gotta be honest. I don't think you and I have anything in common."

"You only now suspected as much? Sorry to disappoint." There was a teasing note in his voice. Seeing that Neku had yet to raise his hand for attention, he then beckoned to the most "normal" looking server in the area.

_Don't think I didn't notice that move, Blondie._

"That isn't true," Shiki butt in. She was clearly disappointed that they were already nailing the coffin shut. He wouldn't have even had to look at her face to know; her stare was burning through his hair and searing an opening into his skull. Neku hadn't even given him a chance. In other circumstances, she would have called him out for it, too. Saying it now wouldn't do anything except make the situation more awkward for everybody. Nothing was worse than ruining a night out in the first thirty minutes of meeting up.

"Both of your moms came from outside of Japan."

History didn't make a good basis for compatibility, either. If she was trying to better the situation, Shiki ought to be pointing out similar interests, and she'd ought to know that. He could give her credit for trying, if for nothing else, because his efforts were sloppy to nonexistent at best. That was kind of his gig--douchebaggery in no flattering form, to the point people were repelled from wanting to converse with him farther. Neku had enough friends. Why did Shiki have to enforce another one on him?

Fine. Fucking _fine_. If it would make her happy...

He slouched in his chair, letting out a sigh that couldn't be heard over the noises around them. Neku considered Joshua again, his blond hair and oddly colored eyes. Were they blue? In this light everything looked like it was purple.

"Your mom is white?"

"You're--asking me if I'm mixed?"

Oh god. Oh no. Joshua was laughing, which did little to inform him if he had actually offended the guy over his inappropriate ice breaker. Affronted or not, Neku had never been punched in the face with embarrassment quite as hard as he was feeling it now. He knew that being born in another country didn't automatically make a person one race or the next, and he could feel himself beginning to sweat over suggesting it.

It was just that... if Shiki was suggesting their moms came from common ground...

The blond cracked Neku an innocuous smile, all before ordering a colorful cocktail from the waiter rather than giving him an answer. He was going to let the poor sucker soak in his recent life choices until the employee had finished going around the table. And soak Neku did, to the point that he was nearly stuttering as he asked for his own drink.

"You can kick me or something, if I'm wrong," Neku said, when it became too unbearable to wait for Joshua to start speaking again. "It's just--my mom is from Australia."

"I'm teasing," Joshua assured him, laughing all over again. "You're on the nose. My mom was born in France. Can I still cash in that kicking you offer, though? In case you ask if I'm a latchkey kid next."

He propped his chin in his hand, clearly enjoying the opportunity to run his smartass mouth. Probably, Neku would guess, because his apartment walls didn't provide much of an audience.

Well. Screw him. His laugh probably wasn't that cute when it was singled out of a crowd as large as this one. In fact, it was giving Neku chills. So there. Who's the one laughing now?

"I dare you to try and kick me." His gaze flickered in Shiki's direction. "Is this why you decided to introduce us? Because our moms are foreign?"

"Don't you _dare_ , Neku Sakuraba. Maybe you should talk to him and find out, instead of asking me questions like I'm your friendship counselor."

 _At least give me credit for trying_ , he thought. _I'm like a porcupine. You can't exactly hug a porcupine and say it was a good experience._

"You said he's tired?" Joshua leaned back in his chair, almost precariously, addressing Shiki also. "You should have let him nap first."

_And take one or seven showers while I'm at it?_

"Just look at him. He thinks I'm going to kick him."

"That's what I said. Seriously, Neku, when was the last time that you slept?"

Shiki fully well believed that he deserved this kind of carnage, so of course she was going to agree with the medical student rather than jump to his defense. The girl gave him a stern look, expecting an answer.

"I.." It was a question as good as any. He had woken up really fucking "early" for Nao. Why did he subject himself to that, again? Because it made her happy? Because she had sat him down with a controller in front of her newly unwrapped Slammurai game?

Right. As much as he hated sitting still for much too long, he was a sucker for anything Tin Pin related.

"I slept for... three hours. Almost four."

"Oh, I averaged that during the last semester," Joshua supplied. "I took very strategic power naps and managed not to kill anyone." 

Killing someone might be detrimental to his career choice, after all. It would be downright humiliating to have killed a person before stepping into an emergency room.

"It's riddled with adverse health effects, though. You and I are probably going to kick the bucket three years before everyone else. Unless they develop addictive vices or become cab drivers. It might even out then."

"If that's true, I'm going to be clocking out of here a decade before any of you here."

Neku hadn't even felt tired until this conversation began. Now that everyone had to go and start picking at his sleeping habits, he rubbed at his eyes with the heel of his palms. Not getting enough sleep might as well be a part of who he was as a person. It didn't come as a surprise that he got so little sleep, not even to Shiki, even though she was shaking her head in disappointment at him now. Her eyes had that sad, motherly look to them that made his stomach churn. "I still think you should talk to a doctor about it."

"I'm just too busy. You and Joshua here have probably pulled just as many all nighters as I have. It isn't a big deal."

She didn't look convinced. Her lips formed a thin line as she thought over her next words, holding back what was truly on her mind. Neku didn't like that look on her, either.

"Maybe Josh can at least convince you to follow his napping routine?"

What? Who was this guy, his babysitter!?

Wait a second. Had Shiki brought this stranger to him because he refused to see a doctor for himself? All under the ruse that he was cute and that she believed they would get along pretty well? That was... diabolical. It was wicked, and unfair, and stupid, for lack of a better word.

He might have believed that Joshua were in on it, too, if he weren't giving Shiki the slightest of frowns. "I'm not _yet_ a doctor, dear. My word is about as good as Web MD. In which case, Neku, I'm sorry, you either have a malignant brain tumor or stage five bone cancer."

"You don't have to be a doctor to give people advice."

"Shiki--I don't take naps. It's not going to happen. Besides, I'm dying of brain tumors. Haven't you been listening?"

"You heard the man, Shiki. He doesn't take naps. Too masculine. Naps devastate his testosterone levels. He's trying not to grow a vagina, dammit, and here we are telling him to _nap_..."

Neku stared at him again, hard.

Would it be out of line to tell someone you just met to suck your dick? He was two seconds away from doing exactly that, from wiping smug grin off Joshua's stupid, pretty face.

"Well, you did say that _you_ took them, Fruit Cocktail."

"That I do, Neku. I would nap in a box, I would nap with a fox, I do love taking naps, Nek-u-chan."

Doctor Seuss McGiggle Pants was rhyming "chan" with "Sam I am," and he wasn't even tipsy yet. He didn't know if he should be proud with Joshua for having the balls to do so or if he should simply be disgusted with him.

"--you have a few more years to enjoy being a night owl without consequences, anyway," Joshua went on. "You can sleep when you're thirty."

"I'll take sleep over you calling me that ever again."

Despite Neku's words, he couldn't help himself from cracking a smile. As much as Joshua may look like a Charitable Fairy Boy, his emerging personality was telling a different story. He might have been a little too judgmental about the guy. Shiki was probably right about them being potential friends. He needed to give the blond a proper chance to get to know him, no matter if he was shallow and thought unkindly of Neku's current appearance.

Maybe this wasn't the worst idea that Shiki had had, after all. Neku had the rest of the night to find out for sure.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, I can't thank bangbang_dear enough for being my beta reader, my Joshua, and my partner in time.


End file.
